There is a young boy who comes to collect old newspapers from our society. His father has an old newspaper mart and this boy works with his father and he comes to collect old newspapers from housing societies where he has been given the license to enter. Normally he picks up the old papers and goes away. But yesterday he began to talk to Vishnu. The conversation was in Hindi. Uncle, are you an artist? Yes. Uncle, you look like M F Husain. Really? You know M F Husain? Yes, Uncle, I like him. He draws horses. So many horses, he has drawn. How do you know? So many old magazines and newspapers come to our shop and I see articles on him and his paintings. I go to collect newspapers from a lady in Yari Road, Uncle. She has an original Husain hanging on her wall. I want to paint also, Uncle. Did you go to school? I studied only up to 4th Standard. Then I started working with my father. I am already married, Uncle. You can study in night schools. Yes, I will try. Uncle, can I come in see the paintings on your wall? Vishnu let him in. He looked two of Vishnus paintings. These are good Uncle. You have drawn a dense jungle. Uncle, Husain has drawn a Ganpati on a horse. How did he imagine it that way? Artists can imagine many things. Why dont you get a drawing notebook and colours and just start drawing? I must try, Uncle. Then he started weighing the papers. We have our own weighing scale. When Vishnu brought it he said, Uncle, I have mine. I can tell you, my scale shows three kilos less. But my father has told me, Never cheat that uncle in B-32. So I wont cheat you. As he got busy, Vishnu remembered an artist friend of ours had given us greeting cards with a M F Husain painting. It was one of his horses. He took out one of them and gave it to him. The boys face lit up. No, Uncle, you keep it, he tried to refuse. No, you keep it. I have more greeting cards like this. He happily took it. Do think about buying a note book and drawing and the night school. Yes, Uncle, he said and happily went away. Mumbai is famous for its night schools. Wish someone could think of an art school which will work in the night where young people like this boy and many others, like maybe young salesgirls and others who work the whole day in malls and supermarkets, could go and find out where their talent lies. I wish Jeevanandan were here. He would immediately think of one!
Posted on: Tue, 08 Apr 2014 07:43:52 +0000
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